Notes and Editorial Reviews

Here we have all of the solo and concerted stereo Beethoven repertoire featuring Rudolf Serkin released by Sony Classical, gathered together in an 11-disc budget boxed set. It does not include mono Beethoven items that Serkin remade in stereo. However, Serkin’s great mono-only Diabelli Variations is present, along with alternative live Marlboro Festival recordings of the Fourth concerto and the Choral Fantasy, plus two stereo versions of the Op. 110 sonata (one from 1971, the other a posthumously released 1960 recording).

The gaunt intensity, nervous energy, tensile strength, and textual rectitude that Serkin brought to Beethoven influenced several generations of pianists, particularly in America. You especially perceiveRead more these qualities throughout the aforementioned Diabellis, the Third and Fifth concertos’ outer movements, the early sonatas’ finales, the “Pathétique” first movement (Serkin was the first major pianist on disc to extend the exposition repeat back to the start of the long introduction), Op. 111’s combative Allegro, and the “Hammerklavier” outer movements. Serkin’s “Moonlight” and “Appassionata” have not lost their staying power as reference recordings, yet the pianist proves even more persuasive in the Op. 119 Bagatelles and in a lean, lofty, and elegant reading of the B-flat Op. 22 sonata. To be sure, some of Serkin’s later performances prove sterner and less supple when heard alongside their earlier counterparts.

The sound samples below enable you to compare his handling of the counterpoint in Op. 110’s Scherzo in 1960 and 1971, and to measure his fiery 1962 opening Choral Fantasy cadenza alongside the still powerful yet relatively labored live 1981 traversal. Then again, the older Serkin still could rise to the occasion, as borne out in the surprisingly impetuous Op. 77 Fantasia, and the 1975 “Waldstein” sonata’s blazing coda. Similarly, the 1974 Fourth concerto’s live ambience offers a more realistic replication of Serkin’s nuanced trills and double notes than the stereo studio version’s harsher, less sustained tonal characteristics. In sum, collectors with a broad interest in Serkin’s Beethoven will find this modestly priced release attractive. Full discographical information is provided on the individual disc sleeves in lieu of booklet notes.

Customer Reviews

Great bargainApril 29, 2014By Robert K. (Round hill, VA)See All My Reviews"Wonderful unless you don't like either Beethoven or piano music!!! Great value for the price....buy it now!!!"Report Abuse

A further thoughtMay 5, 2013By Dr. Mitchell Gurk (Spencer, MA)See All My Reviews"Comparing Serkin's Hammerklavier with Schiff. Serkin's Adagio has maximum tenderness; with the encouraging uplifting music that follows it is a panacea from Beethoven. It is this listener's conceit that from Serkin we hear the affectionate wisdom of a grandfather, and from Schiff the artful exigesis of the scholar."Report Abuse

5 STAR bargain!February 19, 2013By sean o. (saranac lake, NY)See All My Reviews"Good to great performances. Great Choral Fantasy. With most of these pieces my favorites lie elsewhere but still very satisfying and you can't beat the price."Report Abuse

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